Social Work Paves the Way for Change: Palliative Care

Social Work, Chaplaincy, and Palliative Care: A Roundtable Conversation

In palliative care, social workers and chaplains can be seen as ancillary members of the team. I invited my friends George Handzo, director of Health Services Research and Quality for Health Care Chaplaincy in New York City, and Gary Gardia, a hospice and palliative care consultant and the course director for the Post-MSW Certificate in Palliative Care to talk about this important topic in a piece published this month by the National Association of Social Workers’ 2015 Cross Sections Newsletter.

Gary, George and I discussed ways that all of us – and especially social workers and chaplains – can champion the value these vitally important team members in the provision of palliative care. Everyone has a role in shaping the future of palliative care; let’s work together to ensure that the holistic, interprofessional model of palliative is valued so that patients and families can receive the best care possible.